The tablet market is in serious trouble

The iPad isn't the only tablet that's not selling as fast as it used to: According to new data from market firm IDC charted for us by BI Intelligence, global tablet shipments were down about 3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2014 - the first ever market decline for the tablet in any quarter since IDC started keeping track.

For the full year 2014, tablet shipments totaled about 233 million - growing about 8% from 2013 - but the biggest tablet makers saw significant declines in year-over-year shipments, including Apple (down 18%), Samsung (down 22%), and Amazon (down 70%).

It's particularly troubling that the tablet market's first decline came during the holiday quarter, which is generally when most tablets are sold. The tablet's decline has been associated with many possible factors, including bigger phones, the growth of low-priced "generic" tablets, and the fact that people don't replace them as often as phones.